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Author
Topic: HIGH sex drive on Atripla (Read 13426 times)

Okay so I don't know how appropriate this topic is but Im just curious. I have always been sexually active but ever since I started Atripla a week ago my sex drive has gone over the roof, i mean my boyfriend seems to be enjoying it but its like wow... Ive even noticed a change in how i cum. Had anyone else experienced anything like this since being on it?

I'll assume that this is your first HIV regimen, so once you go on Atripla your body experiences what is known as "immune reconstitution". People have a wide variety of reactions during this period, so I guess you'll just have to enjoy a higher sex drive. That can't be too difficult.

I may have had a little bump like that when my viral load was finally suppressed, but not significant enough to say.

JAJAJA im still going through the damn rash phase of it arg i just got it like a day ago im hoping it will go away soon because i hate it... well wat i had noticed besides my sex drive increase was that when i cum its more intense and the semen is more liquid than thick like it was before but alot more comes out so maybe it produces more or something i dont know LOL... i figured id bring up this topic not to be nasty or funny but to lighten up the board since reading through alot of the topics everyone is so serious all the time ..

I haven't necessarily noticed a higher sex drive after 10 days on Atripla, however I have noticed that now I get alot of raging erections during the night, which is something I havent had since my teens.

Well mine doesnt seem to wanna go down...WHich is actually starting to cause issues with my partner because im wanting it more and so im left with having to masterbate and he hates that i do that when i have him but i do it about 4-5times a day and i have never done that before...and its an everyday thing now...

I haven't necessarily noticed a higher sex drive after 10 days on Atripla, however I have noticed that now I get alot of raging erections during the night, which is something I havent had since my teens.

Interesting....that might be a sign that your testosterone levels have gone up. amor_boricua85's sex drive can also be from higher testosterone. I wonder if that can happen from taking Atripla? Hmmm....

Well they are doing alot of testonstrone treatment to some of the guys in my support group but they arent on aptripla they are on something else...and i did notice my hair is starting to grow back cuz it was starting to fall out and i have been having more enegry much more than what i had before im not tired as much... I wanted to do the treatement but my doc just told me to wait after i started meds so maybe she knows something i dont and hasnt told me LOL....like no one ever told me about this damn rash LOL

Yeah this is my first time being on meds so i dont know how it is to be on them but i did notice it increased big time...

Name, number, and location please? your place are mine, what time? ...........just kidding, I agree with Philicia on this one, this too shall come to pass..................enjoy it, while it last hunnie

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

.and i did notice my hair is starting to grow back cuz it was starting to fall out

It is growing back, and you notice this, in one week? Something fishy here. Maybe it just stopped falling out

What about this theory - you were emotionally stressed before starting meds and now you are relieved, and that, with the radically reduced viral load - it all adds up to feeling confident and good.

This isn't scientific, but I was reading some bizaro's conspiracy theory website, and he traced the history of efavirenz to be developed out of the same molecules that also were eventually developed into SSRI's (antidepressants) and also to stimulants.

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ďFrom each, according to his ability; to each, according to his needĒ 1875 K Marx

It is growing back, and you notice this, in one week? Something fishy here. Maybe it just stopped falling out

What about this theory - you were emotionally stressed before starting meds and now you are relieved, and that, with the radically reduced viral load - it all adds up to feeling confident and good.

This isn't scientific, but I was reading some bizaro's conspiracy theory website, and he traced the history of efavirenz to be developed out of the same molecules that also were eventually developed into SSRI's (antidepressants) and also to stimulants.

YOu know you definatly could be right about that because I have been super stressed before being on meds but im still stressed though and actually alot more because of the depression side effect, im already diagnosed with depressions and i have been feeling alot worse since taking the meds and my anti depressants are supposed to counter act that affect but dont maybe i need to change meds or something i dont know LOL...i just know my hair is no longer falling out or well as much as it used to be and my skin is pretty like it used to be, i just know i really like taking atripla it really has helped alot though to make me feel somewhat better so u really could be right about that... who knows!!!

Well keep in communication with your various doctors about your moods, you dont want depression to set in so they can adjust your anti-depressants to find the right one. And enjoy the good feelings! Things are looking up.

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ďFrom each, according to his ability; to each, according to his needĒ 1875 K Marx

Well keep in communication with your various doctors about your moods, you dont want depression to set in so they can adjust your anti-depressants to find the right one. And enjoy the good feelings! Things are looking up.

Yeah I have been so far, cuz I have been having the worst thoughts, not really suicidal just kind of paranoid about alot of things and negative and normally im a very optimistic person but i haven't been lately and its driving my bf crazy everytime im like "who the hell u with and why aint u answering when i call or when i txt" and crap like that. I was kind of dissapointed that the more I took it the less drunk id feel JAJAJA but its okay though. im guessing once my body totally adjust to it all those things will jus go awy and ill go back to normal :-P

Okay so I don't know how appropriate this topic is but Im just curious. I have always been sexually active but ever since I started Atripla a week ago my sex drive has gone over the roof, i mean my boyfriend seems to be enjoying it but its like wow... Ive even noticed a change in how i cum. Had anyone else experienced anything like this since being on it?

I really wish that was the case - Atripla increasing sex drive ! My bf has been on atripla on and off (first on atripla, then switched to reyataz/norvir/truvada, then back) for about 2 years. His sex drive has been consistently very low. As in, no ejaculation for several months at a time lately. He finally agreed to talk to the doc about it. The doc has been looking for possible reasons, but his Atripla wasn't suspected of being the cause. Celexa was, though. My bf switched away from celexa to wellbutrin, and still no improvement in sex drive. At this point, the doc is saying he probably needs counseling, since his sex drive has been low since he tested poz, and he started atripla soon after, but unfortunately my bf isn't open to it yet. My bf is losing hair, too. The doc gave him a pill for that, which has a known side effects of reducing sex drive. sigh. He hasn't started taking that yet - one thing at a time, and the low sex drive issue is really tough to solve.

I am not on HAART, but I have a sex drive that is more like yours. Not quite 4-5 times a day, though it has happened, but 2-3 is typical.

I really wish that was the case - Atripla increasing sex drive ! My bf has been on atripla on and off (first on atripla, then switched to reyataz/norvir/truvada, then back) for about 2 years. His sex drive has been consistently very low. As in, no ejaculation for several months at a time lately. He finally agreed to talk to the doc about it. The doc has been looking for possible reasons, but his Atripla wasn't suspected of being the cause. Celexa was, though. My bf switched away from celexa to wellbutrin, and still no improvement in sex drive. At this point, the doc is saying he probably needs counseling, since his sex drive has been low since he tested poz, and he started atripla soon after, but unfortunately my bf isn't open to it yet. My bf is losing hair, too. The doc gave him a pill for that, which has a known side effects of reducing sex drive. sigh. He hasn't started taking that yet - one thing at a time, and the low sex drive issue is really tough to solve.

I am not on HAART, but I have a sex drive that is more like yours. Not quite 4-5 times a day, though it has happened, but 2-3 is typical.

Aww im sorry that you're going through that with your boyfriend papi, mira you should really ask him to talk to his doctor about considering testostrone theropy, one of the guys in my support group is going through that now and that is what was recommended for him so he is doing that and said his sex drive is starting to get back to normal as well as he is noticing more hair growth. My boyfriend isnt poz but he has been stressing alot with my getting sick alot so eh I have noticed his sex drive somewhat go down a little bit too... Well anyways yeah I am currently on celexa and i really hate it cuz blah i dont need it so i really dont take it as much as im supposed to mainly because for me any anti-depressant lowers your sex drive and i refuse to be like that LOL...But yeah really talk to him and have him talk to his doctor and see if testostrone treatment is a good thing for him to help him out.

Aww im sorry that you're going through that with your boyfriend papi, mira you should really ask him to talk to his doctor about considering testostrone theropy, one of the guys in my support group is going through that now and that is what was recommended for him so he is doing that and said his sex drive is starting to get back to normal as well as he is noticing more hair growth.

That was one of the doctor's suggestions 2 weeks ago actually. But he wanted to check his testosterone level first before he would prescribe it, due to the side effects of testosterone therapy. He heard back today that his level was in the normal range. I don't have the exact number, I got it second hand. The last time he had it checked was about two years ago. His level was actually higher than mine, and he already had the sex drive problem, but not hair loss.

Madbrain, I bet his sexdrive thing is emotional. And you two should do sex therapy or couples therapy, and he should do individual therapy. Just my opinion, but dont let this linger forever and ever.

Yes, that's what the doctor was suggesting too, that he probably needs to go for some counseling. I'm fine with doing group therapy. I have my own individual therapist who has suggested group and individual therapy for him too. But so far, my bf has been very reluctant to doing any kind of therapy. Even when the doctor said it and not me :-(

Damn he is being super stubborn about it and honestly he doesn't even seem to care to work on it from what im seeing... i would have left that dude long ago if he didnt even try to put in his part man...but thats just me..

Damn he is being super stubborn about it and honestly he doesn't even seem to care to work on it from what im seeing... i would have left that nigga long ago if he didnt even try to put in his part man...but thats just me..

Hi Amor, and welcome to the forums.

I understand you're using slang that you probably use everyday without meaning to cause offence, but we need YOU to understand that words like "nigga" can be offensive to some and therefore are not appropriate for this website. Please read through our posting guidelines found in the Welcome Thread.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Have you seen information that Sustiva may have levels of (or effects of) SSRI anti-depressants included in the drug? This might account for the change in behavior (sex or otherwise) that Amor or others have. I noticed that no more than 12 hours after I started Atripla the other day, sex drive went up and semen volume did as well. This is exactly what happened to me when I took anti-depressants on two different occasions in the past.

Not sure if this is true but it could be good information for people to know about so they are more aware of their symptoms during and when ending Sustiva.

I can post the links I have read if anyone is interested. I am not proposing this to be true, just reporting on what I have read here and there. Perhaps someone can add to this, correct it, etc.

Have you seen information that Sustiva may have levels of (or effects of) SSRI anti-depressants included in the drug? This might account for the change in behavior (sex or otherwise) that Amor or others have. I noticed that no more than 12 hours after I started Atripla the other day, sex drive went up and semen volume did as well. This is exactly what happened to me when I took anti-depressants on two different occasions in the past.

Not sure if this is true but it could be good information for people to know about so they are more aware of their symptoms during and when ending Sustiva.

I can post the links I have read if anyone is interested. I am not proposing this to be true, just reporting on what I have read here and there. Perhaps someone can add to this, correct it, etc.

Thanks all

Well I wouldn't see why it wouldn't be true I mean like I said right after taking it i started having all that and it was like wow you know. Even though I am on anti depressants or well i should say was cuz i dont take them they lowered my sex drive to almost none existant so its kind of surprising that you say it has some kind of anti depressant componant in it...Hmm im going to ask my doctor about that when I see her next week. If you could post the link I would like to read more about that.

Well this one article is pretty deep and the guy is firing off a lot of different opinions including anti-pharmaceutical company opinions. The only reason I found it is because I did a curious google search of "Sustive SSRI" and "Atripla SSRI" and this one came up. You have to weed through it to get to his part about the addictive nature of the drug and possible SSRI effects, etc.

Again let me state, I don't condone anything he is saying in his article, I just found it interesting that I have had SSRI like side effects with Atripla so far, etc.

I thought this was an interesting topic. I just started medication a week ago. Mine are Prezista, Epzicom, Norvir and some Inengress (sp?). I tested positive a year ago after my bf was sick and got tested. Anyway, he's doing well on Atripla and so far, I'm doing fine on my regime. We've not had sex though since about a year ago. I still have a great sex drive, but whether out of fear, depression or something else, my bf hasn't wanted to have sex. I do initiate sometimes and he participates to some extent. I thought maybe after I started medication that he'd feel more comfortable, but he's not. I think it's mainly due to stress not the Atripla, but now I wonder if I'll go in that direction as well as I continue to take my meds. Not a big worry, but wondering if I'll be able to sustain and erection, enjoy sex (even if infrequently) and also have the desire to "go at it." Interesting topic and thanks for bringing it up! Cheers!

kcali08: It's possible that your bf's lack of desire for sex is psychological. But it's also possible that it could be low testosterone, since this is a fairly common effect of having HIV. You should both look into that and do some sort of hormone replacement if necessary.

I've been taking Atripla for about 6 weeks. During the last few nights I've experienced raging hardons, which have stayed with me until I wake. I've had a few intense, erotic, Efavirenz dreams too, so have put it down to that.